Scientifc discussions are focussed on establishing safety limits for the presence of per and polyfuoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
in food, in response to growing evidence of health risks associated with their exposure. To the best of the authors’ knowledge,
most studies have so far focused on animal-derived food, which generally represents the highest source of ingested PFAS.
Only recently research has shifted to the monitoring of these contaminants also in vegetables and baked processed foods. Flours have not been extensively investigated and data on their presence is difcult to fnd in literature. The absence of data has resulted in the European Regulation currently not specifying any regulatory limits for PFAS in fours. This study aims to collect informative data on the presence of these contaminants in fours from diferent origin and to infer information regarding the total exposure deriving from this staple food. This study assessed the amount and type of PFAS present in traditional,
organic, protein fours and feed. The most detected PFAS at quantifable concentrations were PFOA and PFDA. Flours for human consumption contained PFAS in the range 0.015–0.176 ng/g, while fours for feed and from crickets contained PFAS in the range 0.033–1.963 ng/g. Diferences have been observed between the three groups of samples in the average PFAS content; the diference between protein and organic resulted statistically signifcative. Our data suggest that consuming 200 g of four per day could signifcantly contribute to the total weekly intake of PFAS.

Jennifer P. Pascali1 · Arianna Giorgetti1 · Susan Mohamed1 · Michele Pozzebon2 · Stefano Vanin3 · Filippo Pirani1 · Guido Pelletti1 · Paolo Fais1
Received: 13 May 2024 / Revised: 23 July 2024 / Accepted: 10 August 2024
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024 Abstract

Keywords: Per- and polyfuoroalkyl substances · PFAS · Flour · Cricket · Food · Feeds · Contaminants

1) Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 49, 40126 Bologna, Italy
2) dtoLABS, Via Pozzuoli, 13C/13D, Viale Viareggio 34/E,30038 Spinea, VE, Italy
3) Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genoa, Italy